Good news for soybean growers struggling with herbicide-resistant weeds. On March 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted final approval on the new Alite™ 27 herbicide for use on GT27™ and LibertyLink® GT27™ soybeans. Stine® is excited to be one step closer to this new weed control option.
The EPA notes, “We’ve heard from farmers across the country about the importance of having new means available to combat economically-damaging weeds … We listened and believe this action balances the need to provide growers with the products necessary to continue to provide Americans with a safe and abundant food supply while ensuring our country’s endangered species are protected.”
While federal approval is only one step in the process, we’re hopeful the herbicide will begin receiving state approvals soon. The herbicide is fully registered in a given state once it receives the state label. As it stands, the initial federal label grants approval for product use in approximately 300 U.S. counties, including in South Dakota, Tennessee, Kansas, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana. Additional states and counties will be added in the coming months.
The main ingredient in Alite™ 27 is isoxaflutole — a Group 27 (HPPD) herbicide. According to BASF, the developers of the herbicide, isoxaflutole “delivers residual control/suppression of more than 70 important grass and broadleaf weeds including many weeds presently exhibiting resistance to EPSPS inhibitor (glyphosate), PSII inhibitor (triazine), PPO inhibitor, ALS inhibitor and synthetic auxin herbicides as well as multiple site of action herbicide resistant weed biotypes.” Alite™ 27 will be labeled for use as a pre-plant burndown, pre-emergence or post-emergence application.
Alite™ 27 herbicide offers a great option for GT27 and LibertyLink GT27 soybean growers. If you purchased Stine GT27 or LibertyLink GT27 soybeans for your fields in 2020, contact your local Stine sales rep to discuss specific requirements for use for Alite™ 27 herbicide.